A DELEGATION from the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), headed by the president, Harry Maragh, will make its way to St. Lucia this week to participate in the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) shipping executives conference, scheduled to take place in Castries from May 25 to 26.
The SAJ delegation will be among more than 100 regional private and public sector shipping executives, who are expected to participate in the conference and discuss pressing maritime concerns, while identifying strategies to aid the growth and development of regional maritime trade.
Mr. Maragh explains that though the SAJ has always participated in the CSA meetings, this one was even more crucial considering the numerous changing world trends in the maritime business and the heightened focus on maritime security.
Therefore, he said, the SAJ had special interest in the security matters to be raised at the St. Lucia conference, especially in light of the local thrust to gain certification under the International Ships and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, being stipulated for ports worldwide.
The delegation will comprise board members Michael Bernard, Grantley Stephenson, Roger Hinds, Paula Pinnock, Kim Clarke, Donavan Martin, Ruel Gibson and James Worton. The SAJ general manager, Trevor Riley, along with senior officers of the SAJ, will also attend.
Representatives from the wider membership of the SAJ as well as the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI), and other agencies will also be part of the local delegation.
ISSUES
Other issues to be addressed at the conference are the Free Trade Area of the Americas Agreement (FTAA), the Caribbean Single Market Economy (CSME) and bioterrorism.
Resource persons will be drawn from the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana, the International Maritime Organisation regional office, as well as the Caribbean Single Market and Economy Office, Lloyd's Register and the United States Customs. Participants are expected from Antigua, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, French Guyana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Panama, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, United States of America and Venezuela. Other participants include representatives of shipping lines and equipment suppliers which serve the Caribbean.
